Imagine a world that is perfect, everyone smiles with a pleasant welcome which is genuine and without judgment. Food is a 24hour free world buffet, might I add alongside a fully functional free 24hour McDonalds with McCafe. Everything in the village is free, it has a gym, hospital with full diagnostic centre, a dentist surgery, laundry services everything and more in one purpose built village for one reason; to get the very best performances from the very best athletes in the world. So if everything is there for free what could you want?
In the village you can't buy anything, so nobody carries money around which makes it a very unique environment. Is there anything of value left then? Well yes, there is actually. The real currency of the Olympics are simple pin badges. Usually a symbol of your Olympic Association with the best ones having the year on it and the really special ones have the logo too. As an example ours was our famous British lion and Sochi 2014 on the bottom which made ours very collectible and we could trade with any nation.
Trading gets very competitive as everyone there is an elite athlete in elite sports, competition is in their nature. Pride is up for grabs with sponsors also getting in on the action that plays out from start to finish. The opening and closing ceremony being the big trading game days as all nations are present. Badges are swapped with each country designing and allotting numbers to each of their athletes. Volunteers try and get in on the action but the main trading is athlete to athlete as then every pin has a story.
Well its finally hitting home that I'm back and reality is kicking in. Getting stuck back in to training now and Sochi 2014 does sometimes feel like a dream but it was real with memories that make me smile every day.
Anyway, check in soon for my next chapter.
